Grasslands, Aridlands, and Forests

We improve habitat quality on privately managed and public lands.
Burrowing Owls. Photo: Sandrine Biziaux Scherson/Audubon Photography Awards

Working on working lands.

Working lands represent one of the best hopes for conservation. These parcels of forests, ranches, and farms add up to roughly a billion acres—or about half the land in the entire Lower 48 states. Audubon collaborates with landowners, land managers, government agencies, and private industry across the hemisphere to increase the quality of habitat on privately managed lands to benefit 20 flagship bird species. Audubon also helps landowners and land managers apply bird-friendly practices on their lands.

Related News

Bouressa Family Farm Secures Audubon Bird-Friendly Land Certification
October 21, 2026 — Rachel Bouressa manages for a mosaic of grassland habitat that supports priority bird species in central Wisconsin.
Newly Audubon Certified, Pathfinder Ensign Ranches Advances Grassland Bird Conservation in Wyoming
October 19, 2026 — Pathfinder Ensign Ranches achieves Audubon’s Bird-Friendly Land Certification, expanding a conservation network encompassing more than 1.4 million acres in Wyoming.
2026 Audubon Conservation Ranching Bird Monitoring Results in the Rockies
September 30, 2026 — Scientists monitored nearly 500 locations across 12 certified bird-friendly ranches this year. Here’s what they saw.
Prairie Pastured Beef to Carry the Audubon Certified Bird-Friendly Land Seal
September 29, 2026 — Carl Flaig and his family provide high-quality grassland habitat for wildlife in central Wisconsin, adding to over 2,000 certified bird-friendly acres in the state.
Brett Gray Ranch Attains Audubon Bird-Friendly Land Certification
September 18, 2026 — The ranch provides vital habitat for grassland birds in Colorado’s Shortgrass Prairie Region.
Birds That Depend on Grasslands
Greater Sage-Grouse
Centrocercus urophasianus
Pheasants and Grouse
Golden Eagle
Aquila chrysaetos
Hawks and Eagles
Sagebrush Sparrow
Artemisiospiza nevadensis
New World Sparrows
Sage Thrasher
Oreoscoptes montanus
Mockingbirds and Thrashers
Burrowing Owl
Athene cunicularia
Owls
Brewer's Sparrow
Spizella breweri
New World Sparrows
Gray Flycatcher
Empidonax wrightii
Tyrant Flycatchers